Lucky
by sirli
Summary: The XMen go to help a new mutant, who doesn’t even know she is one. So what’s her gift? How far will Xavier [OOC] go to get her on their side? LoganOC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing when it comes to this story. Well, maybe only Lucky.

Author's Note: This is my first X-Men fanfic. Just an idea I wanted to write down, inspired by my own hitchhiking experiences. In this story Rogue and Bobby are an item and Logan/Wolverine is tamed somewhat, meaning he's ok with being at the mansion and being one of the X-Men. Well, you'll know what's going on as you read it.

To all of my Pitch Black fanfic readers: don't worry, I'll continue with Whatever It Takes. I just needed to get this one out, you know.

Any feedback is really welcome.

LUCKY

by sirli

_God, I'm starving,_ Lucky thought and shifted the heavy guitar-case strapped to her back. Her black duffle bag in hand she headed to the gas-station's toilets.

Hitching rides can be fun and easy, except when it comes to two things. Personal hygiene and the overall uncertainty of what the tomorrow would bring. Safety wasn't such a big deal for her. Things just happened to go the way she wanted them to. Thus, her nickname.

Lucky had gotten used to (and with experience also skilled at) talking men out of wanting to fuck her. A little joke here, a fitting lie there and no whining anywhere made the men think she's too good to be treated badly by anyone. She was one of the guys, always had been. Lucky thought she's be a great actress with all the different roles she'd played in her drifter's life in order to stay out of harms way. And it always worked.

Now it was time to take care of the personal hygiene part. God knows when might be the next time she'll be able to empty her bladder. If the driver doesn't feel like stopping, she'd just have to hold it. Sighing, she pushed the door open to the toilet. Lucky was pleased to find it relatively clean and completely empty. Just the way she liked it.

After a while she was half way through washing up. Her long gipsy skirt was pulled up as she was washing her long feet in the sink and shaving one. A man pushed the door open and came in.

Lucky guessed the man hadn't seen her at first. But when he did, he stopped on his tracks and stared at her with obvious surprise. She couldn't blame him though. Lucky decided it would be wise to say something.

Without stopping what she was doing or even looking up, she said: "Unisex bathrooms can be a real bitch, huh? Hope me shaving doesn't ruin your image of women as born beauties." Her tone was casual and she herself very relaxed. No need to make a fuss over such a small thing here. It's not like this was her first time being in this kind of situation.

The man shrugged and turned to take a piss. Lucky saw that he was a trucker, so she knew not to expect any trouble. Truckers were nice if you treated them right. So she only said: "No worries. Hope me taking a leak doesn't ruin your image of men as gods that we are." Both of them laughed at that and the man opened his zipper, back turned to Lucky.

When the man was done, he left abruptly. _Guess his mama never taught him to wash his hands,_ she thought and shook her head in mock resentment. Lucky knew there had been plenty of times she had had to use leaves to wipe her ass and only dream of modern luxuries. Because of lack of money she couldn't also afford a hotel room and therefore slept wherever she could. That left her without showering opportunities more often than she would have liked. But just to humor herself, she added bitter _Men!_ in her head.

By then she had done all the washing up possible in the current conditions and turned to her bags. A leather wallet on the floor caught her eye. _It must be that man's,_ she thought.

The woman only smiled gratefully and picked it up while saying a silent thank you to her guardian angel – the Lady Luck. _Just when I was hungry!_ She headed out and thought about all the good things she can now buy for her late breakfast.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Xavier had called all the X-Men together to his office. The women – Storm, Jean and Rogue, where sitting while the men – Scott, Logan and Bobby stood behind them facing Xavier.

Scott cleared his throat. "What's our mission?" he asked since he was the team leader.

Xavier leaned over his desk a bit and his face was troubled as he explained: "I have a signal from a very powerful mutant. She's somewhere between Seattle and Portland. I need to search a little deeper for her, but it shouldn't be difficult. I want you to go and bring her here. But be careful – there is something very…foggy about her."

The team was silent as they processed the information. Scott was first to open his mouth again. "We'll get the yet ready. Can you send the coordinates of her whereabouts over there?"

Xavier nodded. "Yes, you can go ASAP. She'll be a great help for our cause."

Nobody commented that since there was no reason to make useless words. The team had its comfortable routine. They all knew how to do their thing.

They landed a while later on a deserted road a little off their destination. Logan was grumpy since he didn't like flying and Scott always tried to bug him because of that. Wolverine sure as hell didn't keep himself from voicing his anger. "One Eye, you're just begging for me to kill you!" he roared after he was safe on solid ground again.

Cyclops held back his laughter as he oh so innocently explained to the Wolverine: "I had to do that Death Circle to avoid hitting a bird!"

Logan growled back: "Sure. There are dozens of birds flying 16 miles up. And you have those miraculous reflexes to turn the plane, flaying three times the speed of sound before the fucking bird comes even to the sight."

The rest of the team only laughed. It was the same old same old. Rogue came to pat Logan's shoulder, but had to go back to stand by her boyfriend's side when she couldn't hold back the maniacal laughter.

"Let's just go already," Wolverine snarled and they headed to a small diner just a little off the highway. That's what Xavier's data said the new mutant should be at.

The X-Men entered the diner. The place looked just like any other diner slash truck stop. Logan had seen plenty of those in his time. Since there were no other women there except for the middle-aged waitress, Scott led the team to Lucky. Logan gave her a once over, his natural instinct. _Not bad,_ he thought to himself. _Long light red hair and female curves. Fuckable, _he summed it up. She was sitting, but Logan estimated her to be tall, about 5'9.

Lucky was in the middle of hunching through her second plate of pancakes with strawberry souse. Yummy! But then four strangers scooped themselves in her booth and two other men stood near her table. To say she was surprised would be underestimating it. It's not like she had alien contact every other day. And that's the impression Lucky got seeing them in those stupid leather costumes.

"Excuse me? I'm eating there," she told them annoyed.

Scott, who was also sitting down, spoke: "Hello. We're the X-Men and were here to help you."

Lucky raised an eyebrow as she didn't understand what he was talking about. "I don't need any help and I think you got me confused with someone else," she said to them with compassion. If that's his regular pickup line, then he was the one needing help and not her.

"You don't have to be afraid of us. We're mutants," Scott tried again.

Lucky thought a bit before replying again: "That's good for you, honey. I totally support the whole coming out to the open thing. Now, if you guys don't mind, I'd like to finish my breakfast."

Scott, as well the rest of the team, seemed a little put off by her casualness. Jean leaned forward as she said: "You don't have to hide from us. We know you're a mutant too and we're here to take you to New York, to a perfect place for our kind to have a normal life."

Jean sounded so honest and comforting, but Lucky was getting tired of this stupid game. "Listen, I'm telling you that you have me mistaken for someone else. Cuz I'm not a mutant," she said as if explaining a very simple thing to a total idiot. After a beat she continued: "Not that I have anything against you people. Rock on, but somewhere else please, because I'd really like to eat now."

The team exchanged worried glances. Maybe Xavier had made a mistake? Maybe they had revealed their identity to a complete stranger? Maybe this meant real trouble?

Without a single word they left the diner. No need to make a scene. As they stood outside in the late summer sun Jean connected the professor and had a quick telepathic conversation with the man. No, she was it, professor confirmed. Jean signaled to her fiancé and to the others as well that they had been right. Logan cursed and Bobby tried to seem like a man by throwing in his own vulgar vocabulary.

"Guys, lets just wait her here and then talk again," Rogue suggested.

Jean shook her head. "It's so strange. When I looked into her head it really seemed like she's just a regular human."

Scott shrugged. "But if the professor is sure she's the one we came for, then we must give it another try."

Logan wasn't that pleased with this situation either. "If she doesn't want to come, then, why on earth should we try to save her? She doesn't want to be saved, Cyc," he told to he man next to him.

Storm was confused too, but she suggested talking again in somewhat more private place might give better results. "Maybe she was afraid someone would overhear us?"

"We should just crab her and take her to the mansion before the Brotherhood finds her," Bobby suggested, but such brutal behavior was unacceptable for the most of X-Men.

Lucky was puzzled by the weird incident. _Who were those people?_ She asked herself over and over again. Then she paid her bill and both hands full with her bags, headed outside. Another beautiful day to stand by the road with her cardboard sign. Mexico was still far away.

She saw the leather clowns the moment she stepped outside. They had been waiting for her in the shade of the diner, leaning against the wall. Lucky turned the other way, thinking that maybe giving those freaks the cold shoulder will make them go away. No such luck.

The man with red sunglasses walked by her side. "Nobody can hear us now, so let's talk."

Lucky rolled her eyes, but didn't bother herself with the replay. That encouraged Storm to continue the team's sell-speech. "We know you're a mutant and you don't need to be afraid of us. We can help!"

"Hey!" Lucky finally snapped. "I ain't a mutant and the only way you can help me right now is by getting lost! Got that?"

Scott sighed and asked very calmly. "You're name is Lucky, right?"

Lucky stopped abruptly. "How you know my name?" she asked with growing suspicion. Just who the fuck were these people?

"And you're 22? Born at Florida? Being traveling for four years all over the states and currently headed to Central America?" Scott kept on asking. With every passing word Lucky's mouth fell more and more open. This was creeping her out!

The silence lasted for a good half a minute until Lucky was startled by the passing truck. With fear she carefully asked Scott: "What the hell do you want from me?" Sure as hell she didn't want to get on the wrong side of those people. Nope, she didn't want to die.

Scott tried to smile and told her: "We want you to at least give us a chance, to talk to you."

Lucky nodded. She was so numb. Scott led her away from the highway and the rest of the team fell in step around them. No one said a word until they reached the far end corner of the truck stop. There weren't anyone around. That scared Lucky even more. Perfect place to shoot her between the eyes and all…

Jean took over the talking since she could sense Lucky's fear and thought she might know how to push the right buttons. "We know about you because out leader is a very powerful telepath. His name is Xavier and he told us that you are a powerful mutant. Maybe your powers haven't surfaced fully yet. But they will, Lucky. We would like to welcome you to join the School for the Gifted. It's a perfect place where no angry humans could hurt you, Lucky. You'd be at home there."

Lucky looked at Jean like she was some mad woman. "This sounds as if I'm being recruited to the CIA," Lucky stated. She was still afraid and that warm look in the redhair's eyes didn't help any. There were always hidden motives if a stranger was overly nice to you. That meant danger.

Jean laughed softly, but not overly so. "The X-Men are nothing like CIA. We are Xavier's team to fight for the peace between humans and mutants and to protect the mutants."

"I'm not a mutant, so I don't need your protection," Lucky told her.

Logan cut in since he was tired of this whole talking business. "You will need it when the Brotherhood finds you," he said and lit his cigarette.

The smell of tobacco overwhelmed Lucky's senses and she welcomed it. Logan must have seen it since he held his pack out. Lucky didn't hesitate. She scooped one out and took the lighter Logan offered to light it. _God, the first smoke of the day is always the best, _Lucky thought blissfully.

To enjoy herself fully, Lucky dropped her bags and sat on them, while hungrily inhaling the smoke. Logan crouched next to her and talked to her as the rest of the team watched. This time Lucky didn't mind it that much – she had plenty of time to kill and she just got a free cigarette out of it. Nice.

"We ain't the bad guys. But the Brotherhood is. What it comes down to is, do you want to kill people or do you want peace. Simple as that."

Lucky exhaled and watched the smoke as she answered Wolverines unspoken question. "I ain't gonna kill no one, man. I'm just minding my own business and I'd really appreciate if you'd listen to me when I say I'm not a mutant."

Logan didn't let her stubbornness distract him. "When the Brotherhood gets you, they'll brainwash you. They'll turn you into a killer." Lucky didn't know what to say. She just smoked. Logan was already putting out his smoke, when he spoke once more: "Give us a chance. We came a long way for you and as you've seen we ain't hostile."

Lucky got up too since it was weird to be the only one sitting down. "I have plans, you know!"

Logan saw an opportunity and told her: "Come now and see it for yourself. If you don't like it at the mansion, then Xavier will buy you the ticket wherever you'd like."

That was Lucky's breaking point. Nothing to lose. If those people wanted to give her money, she was game. It's not her fault after all, that those fools had made a mistake thinking she was a mutant. "Fine," she told the team with a casual smile.

The team was headed to god knows where, but Lucky followed them. Just so to make a point, she added to no one particular: "Traveling is not about the destination, but the road there."

Rouge was next to her and because of her own experiences she knew exactly what she meant. "You're doing the right thing. Trusting Luck to take you off your course. You just might find something better than what you were looking for."

Lucky smiled at that. Luck was her magic word.

Author's Note: So, what do you think? Should it be ONESHOT?

8


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note**: Thanks for the reviews! I was really happy to hear you guys liked it (and Lucky too). Cheers!

* * *

The team led Lucky to Xavier's office. She felt kind of weird being so colorfully (aka normally) dressed among all those black leather warriors. If she hadn't known better, she would have imagined them to be a part of some underground SM club, if you get my drift. And seeing the professor in his proper black suit didn't help it one bit. It was like real life M.I.B. experience…

"Hello Lucky," the bold man greeted her. "I am Charles Xavier. Welcome to Westchester, New York."

Lucky stood with her guitar in one hand and the large duffle bag in the other. "Ah, so you're the guy who owes me the ticket to Acapulco!" she said and a warm smile made her face shine pretty.

Scott growled a little. He wasn't all that used to rescuing people who weren't grateful for it the least bit. "Not so fast. We agreed you'd talk to him. Thoroughly," he added after a beat. God only knows what this girl might consider a conversation.

Lucky was amused. She was that sort of a girl – easily entertained. Lucky didn't wait for an invitation, but sat down on a chair. The whole team stood behind her, giving her the creeps. Those weren't exactly the people you'd like to turn your unguarded back at.

Xavier begun again: "Please, miss…Lucky. Give us a chance and we'll see how that goes."

"OK," Lucky agreed. It's not like she had a reason to back out now. She chose to ignore the whole ´miss part. To tell the truth, she didn't feel comfortable talking about the real her.

Xavier had looked around in her head quite a bit. From a long distance it had been unusually fuzzy and therefore difficult. But right now there was only one part he couldn't get into. Naturally, that made him all the more curious.

"We are all mutants and we can sense you are one as well," the professor said hoping she'd open up.

No such luck. "I told the others already that I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't got no powers – no flying, no superhuman abilities, no nothing," Lucky told him casually. It wasn't her fault those people had made a mistake.

Xavier frowned and briefly considered if his insight had been wrong. No. "We'll get back to that later as your powers might still be… fully not emerged. Why don't you tell us something about yourself? Maybe that would help us to figure things out."

The whole team kind of tensed up. Oh, this was something they all wanted to hear.

Lucky on the other hand sank down on her chair. If this will be some sort of Dr. Phil talk show, she decided to head to the door ASAP. "Well…" she began, but didn't know what the hell she was supposed to talk about. "I'm 22, from Florida. Green is my favorite color and I am currently single," she said ending up sounding like those girls at bachelor shows. She decided to take it even further. "Oh, and I love music," she added with a goofy smile. She had a hard time stopping herself from laughing out loud. This was just so ridiculous.

The team was obviously disappointed. Can't blame them really. Even Xavier frowned. He needed to cut the chit chat and find out what this woman could do. She could be another Magneto, another enemy…

Logan quite liked Lucky. He found her rather funny and the way she didn't fear any of them made him respect her a little more. Not a whole lot, but still… She reminded him of what he used to be before all this "fight for the good" crap found its way to him. Logan knew she wouldn't stay here for long. Hell, if back then there hadn't been Rogue, he would have run a long time ago. This whole thing had just grown on him. But Lucky was a free spirit and Wolverine knew here was nothing keeping her here. And he liked her also for the fact she looked hot. That's not such a small thing for the Wolverine within.

Xavier spoke again. "Maybe the secret lies within your nickname," he suggested.

Lucky shrugged. "I've always been Lucky. I just have amazing luck and I wouldn't have any other name."

Xavier pondered about that. Anything out of the ordinary was suspicious, he knew that. Could luck be someone's mutation? So he asked Lucky to explain it a little more.

"I am the epitome of Luck. It's like that – for the past four years I've been hitchhiking, I've been living out of strangers' kindness, and I've been choosing places where to travel/live at by their integral temperature of the season! And not once – not once – have I been in any real, REAL danger!" she said and looked as if it was the most natural thing she was talking about. "If that's not luck, then I don't know what is."

Scott wasn't buying it. There was no such thing as luck. You have to work hard, that's the only way to find happiness. But as he looked around, he saw that not all of his teammates seemed to agree with him. Rogue had this incredulous face as if she admired her, Ororo seemed to pity her, Jean was scanning Lucky to see if she needed any medical help, Bobby was checking Lucky out and Logan was…being Logan. Wolverine's face was blank, except for his usual bored-out-of-my-mind look.

Xavier wasn't rejecting the idea of luck, but he still needed to know more. "Could you bring us an example?"

Lucky sighed. She knew people had hard time believing in something they can't control. She shrugged – she didn't need to justify herself to these people. All she had to do for that plane ticket was to just talk.

So she said:" Umm… Just this morning. I had slept under a truck since it had been raining the evening before and there was no other place where to crawl under. So, I made myself a little nest there and fell asleep. OK, that's nothing unusual, but when I woke up, it was because the truck was starting to drive away from the parking lot. Can't believe I hadn't woken at dawn as usual. When I did, I saw these huge tires coming closer and closer to where I lay. And just before they was about to crush me, something happened. The motor died out and I had plenty of time to ramble out with my whole stuff. Later, I heard someone had put sand in that truck's gas tank. They had to call for a mechanic. Ain't that luck?" she asked Xavier.

The man didn't know what to think. He fell deep in thought, so the X-Men took it over. Jean asked her incredulously: "You haven't been to doctor's for four years?"

Lucky shrugged. "Longer than that, but yes. Is that so weird?"

Jean shook her head, but couldn't shake off the disbelief. "No. Just so much like Wolverine…"

"What's that?" Lucky asked thinking it might be some Latin medical language mumbo jumbo.

"That's me," Logan said instead of Jean. "Healing factor," he added after a beat and pointed at himself with two thumbs. Although Lucky raised an eyebrow, she chose not to ask anything. She was gonna part them soon, so why ferret?

Scott still couldn't take Lucky's word for granted. "You've been on streets for four years? Where do you get the money?"

Lucky had to roll their eyes. That's always one of the first three things people ask her. "I play guitar and sing at bars, but often people just want to help me out or I find money or something like that," she said. To her it was all old news, but she knew such lifestyle and fortune must seem impossible to all the others. For the most her choices meant suicide trap.

Bobby piped in: "You find a lot of money? Hey, could we go on walks together?" he asked and laughed at his own joke. The rest of the team seemed to smiled a little, but most of them were still too stunned to let it go.

Rogue had her own question in mind. "Why did you leave home?" she asked Lucky. If she now didn't know she was a mutant, that her powers hadn't surfaced yet, then what was it that made an 18 year old girl leave her family to roam about across the continent?

It was Lucky's turn to frown. _Why do these people want to know every little thing about me?_ Lucky thought. Suddenly she started to feel a little claustrophobic. _Maybe their not gonna let me go?_ But she had to give Rogue some kind of an answer. "My time there was up," Lucky only said and turned back to face Xavier in hopes this will stop the others from prying deeper.

Xavier had seen the whole incident. So, her family was Lucky's Achilles' heel. But the telepath didn't feel like approaching the subject just yet. Lucky might get too defensive and close up completely. No, they needed to monitor her.

"Lucky, thank you for talking to us, "Xavier said. "I will arrange the plain ticket to Acapulco, but I'm afraid it takes some time. You are welcome to stay here for those couple of days," he said.

Lucky raised an eyebrow. They had a private jet and this magnificent house, yet they can't find her a ticket from New York to one of the most popular beach resorts? Fishy. But then again, she could use a few days with regular showers and meals.

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Lucky replied. She stood and took her bags as she asked: "Do I get a bed or…"

Jean was surprised the girl could even ask this. God, where really had she been sleeping at all those years? "Of course you'll get your own bed! The guestrooms are on the right wing. Maybe Rogue would show you?" Jean asked addressing the girl with white streaks.

Rogue nodded and smiled. Everyone seemed to be ready to leave, when Xavier spoke again. "I'd like to talk over some rules of this house before you go unpack."

Lucky didn't know what to think about his words. Either she looked like a person who doesn't know anything about civility, or this house had some exceptional rules. She chose to believe the last one.

Logan was near the door holding it open for Storm. "If he tells you not to smoke in the mansion, then believe him. He once threatened to make me believe I'm a six year old girl. I smoke outside," he added bitterly and sent a death glare at the man in wheelchair.

Lucky smiled. "Thanks for the heads up, man," she told him and watched as the X-Men left the room. Out of the entire bunch Logan seemed like the most normal one. Not like the redhead Jean who acted as Mother Theresa or the tight-ass guy with sunglasses. _Hmm, might try to get to know him bit more if I'm gonna be stuck here for a little while,_ Lucky thought to herself.

The door closed behind them. _Did it suddenly get colder in here?_ Xavier looked a whole lot more down to business now. She didn't like this.

Lucky sat back and subconsciously crossed her arms. "I promise not to make a mess and not to eat the fridge completely empty," she said half jokingly trying to brighten the mood. Not a muscle moved in professor's face – he was too busy observing Lucky to even hear her.

Finally he opened his mouth again. "I don't know why you chose to lie to us about your powers. I know you must have used them for many years now for them to be so strong. I feel it. All I wanted to tell you is that you could help us, help the entire human kind. Are you really so self-observed that you put your own comfort above your responsibilities as a human being? You could change the world!" he said with a rather intimidating tone, sounding so sorry for Lucky but yet so disdainful.

She gaped at him. "Listen dude! I don't know what you are talking about nor do I even care now. I don't need another father looking down at me! Who the fuck do you think you are?"

With that she stood up, but didn't feel like leaving. There was so much she would have wanted to tell the man! But she didn't know where to begin. First of all, she was confused out of her mind.

Xavier's face was the same as always – could be loving, could be frightening, depends how you looked at it. "You could be one of us, be among your kind. You could do something with your life!"

"I am doing something with my life! And about being with "my kind" – I hope I'm not one of you if everyone here is as rude and insulting as you!"

Now she had said exactly what she had wanted to say. She pulled the door open and walked out with her bags before Xavier had time to assault her with another comment. Maybe he had tried to manipulate her through her so called responsibilities to human kind, or maybe influence her with guilt-tripping, but it sure as hell hadn't worked on her.

She didn't feel like staying here after this conversation, but she quickly realized she had no other place to go to at this point. She was also determined to get that plane ticket no matter what. After this, she deserved it!

Rogue was waiting for Lucky in the hall. She had changed her clothes and was now wearing blue jeans, white simple baby t-shirt with long white gloves and silk scarf. "Hey again," she greeted Lucky and took her duffle bag. "Your room is up there," Rogue said pointing to the stairs.

"Thanks," Lucky muttered and followed her. All of the sudden she had lost any will to talk to anybody. _Maybe they were all as stuck up as this Baldie?_

The room that Rogue had pointed out for her was very nice. Quality (and with that money) showing through every detail – the wallpaper, furniture, luxurious bathroom. Nice change to all of the park benches and restrooms.

Lucky threw her guitar-case on the bed next to where Rogue had placed her duffle bag. "Do you need me to help you unpack?" Rogue asked.

"No, I don't have that much stuff," Lucky shrugged with a smile.

"OK," Rogue said, but didn't leave. "Wanna talk?" she asked again.

Lucky didn't, but she wasn't about to be in solitude for those few days. "Sure," she said and pulled out her guitar and her notebook. Before she had her precious chance to play a little, a girl entered the room. Through a wall.

"Hi!" the girl greeted. Lucky replied with the same word, but her voice lacked most of the other's excitement.

Rogue stepped in and introduced them. "Kitty, this is Lucky. She'll be here for a few days. Lucky, this is Kitty."

"I'm like so glad to meet you! Nice hair by the way!" Kitty said in one stride as she squeezed herself between Lucky and Rogue on the bed.

"Thanks," Lucky said touching her hair absentmindedly. Her hair was sort of dark orange and she had been picked on because of that as a child. Damn that Irish descent!

"So, we kinda heard you're a vagabond of sorts?" Kitty asked looking eagerly at Lucky and the little belongings she had.

"Yeah?" Lucky asked back deciding not to talk all that much about her lifestyle. Xavier had made her precautious.

"Kitty, I think Lucky would like to unpack in peace," Rouge tried to be diplomatic.

"Sure! Where are the rest of her bags then?" Kitty said and looked around.

"Umm," Lucky said. "These are all."

Kitty looked as if she had just been face to face with something none of us wants to ever face. Auditing bookkeeper, bitchy mother-in-law…dentist? "That's it? But how can you possibly wear only one pair of jeans?" she asked.

"By wearing this skirt when the jeans are dirty?" Lucky asked back. She felt a little better now, seeing these two girls were something she'd call normal teenagers. She was humored by how self-understood some people took all the world's comforts.

"Oh, my god!" Kitty shrieked. "Wait till Jubes hears this!" she said and practically flew out of the room. Through the wall again. Lucky didn't feel least bit uncomfortable being in the house of mutants and seeing all these crazy things. If that's what destiny had in mind for her, then so be it.

"Sorry about that," Rogue tried to apologize for her hyper friend. "She's a very good friend and a cool gal once you get used to her," she said.

"Oh, that's OK. She seemed like a nice person," Lucky answered and smiled. "I guess fashion is here a bigger deal than what I am used to. Like your gloves and all…"

Rogue smiled back. "My gloves are not a fashion statement. I guess I should warn you. My skin is poisonous, so – no skin on skin contact."

That sounded freaky to Lucky, but it's not like there was something intelligent she could do or say about it. "OK," she only said and pulled open the duffel's zipper. In her head she was pondering how on god's name Rouge has sex then. But Lucky knew better then to ask.

Rogue liked that Lucky hadn't shifted away from her. There weren't all that many people in the mansion that weren't afraid of her. The fact always bugged her a bit. "I'll leave you to it then," she said pointing at Lucky's little pile of clothing.

"Thanks," she said. But before Rouge reached the door, Lucky asked her: "So is that Logan/Wolverine guy single?"


	3. Chapter 3

„So is that Logan/Wolverine guy single

„So is that Logan/Wolverine guy single?"

Rogue came to a halt. Sure she knew Logan had some certain charm and was popular with the ladies. Sure Rogue knew Logan's love affairs were none of her business. Sure she knew there was nothing wrong in Lucky being attracted to Wolverine. But **still** – it was **her** Logan!

Rogue didn't know for how long had she been staring at Lucky's innocent face with obvious surprise. Lucky seemed to catch her signal for she said: "Oh! Don't worry. I didn't know you two were together. Just that I had an impression that you and the younger X-man were an item…"

Rogue snapped out of it and walked closer to Lucky. "Yeah, I and Bobby are dating. Absolutely. And Logan is single as far as I know," Rogue said trying her best to sound casual. _Gosh, this felt awkward!_

Lucky didn't buy it though. "Why did you look so pissed then?"

Rogue sighed. "Me and Logan go way back," she said quietly. "Not as lovers! More like best friends… And I wasn't pissed off, just a little surprised maybe."

Lucky wasn't buying that either, but decided to let it drop. It wasn't her place to snoop around for everyone's dirty little secrets or something like that. If Rogue had a crush on someone else than her boyfriend, then Lucky didn't feel like stepping in the huge drama.

"OK. He just looked kind of sexy. If you don't want me to – I don't know – make a move on him, then that's totally cool by me. Just natural interest," Lucky told her. The friendly smile she gave to Rogue would have melted the whole North Pole. Rogue didn't know how someone could resist her simple honesty and frankness.

"No, no. He is free to do whatever he wants. As are you," Rogue told the other woman. "But be careful. Logan isn't exactly the most reliable of guys."

Lucky shrugged. "And it's also not exactly as if I proposed to him, honey!" They both laughed at that. "Listen, I'm gonna be here for like two days. All I had in mind was a little flirt, little laugh. Maybe getting one night's worth of good memories to take with me to Acapulco."

Rogue observed her with open interest. It's not every day she met people like Lucky – so open about what they want, so natural in their shamelessness, so interesting.

"Good luck hunting," Rogue wished to her newest friend.

"Thanks, R." Lucky told her. "Do you think I might stand a chance with him? After the shower that is."

For Rogue the answer was clear and simple. Logan went out every chance he got. Rogue knew what kind of women he spent his nights with. If **those** were good enough for Wolverine, then Lucky had to be more than OK. With or without the shower.

But all Rogue chose to say about it, was: "I know you do."

Both of the young women smiled to each other. One was glad there hadn't been a major catfight; the other felt relieved the sting in her heart had been only temporary. Peace.

After a few more minutes Rogue left Lucky to go check out what's for dinner. She almost bumped into the one person she didn't feel like talking to at the very moment. Logan. The whole previous conversation seemed to rush back to her and made her blush.

"What's up, kid? You look a little flushed," Logan said with less barking voice than what was his usual way. He was in the middle of eating his huge sandwich and reading some auto magazine.

"Umm… Nothing's going on," Rogue said and helped herself a soda. Inside she was debating over whether or not she should tell Logan about the little fact that Lucky was interested in him. She wanted to see if it ran both ways. Why, Rogue did not know.

As her womanly possessive nature won over the ethics towards her new friend, Rogue said: "I helped Lucky with her unpacking. We talked a lot."

Logan didn't look up. He had a feeling Rogue was leading him into something since she never gossiped about other girls at the mansion with him. Since there were very few things Logan minded about Rogue, he decided to fallow her path. "About?"

Rogue shrugged. "Just girl talk. You know – boys and stuff."

Logan snorted and turned his full attention back to the more important issue in hand. Food.

Rogue was disappointed that Logan didn't ask her more. Wasn't he curious what exactly did they talk about boys? She tried one more time: "He fancies someone in this house…"

Logan only snorted again.

"Ok, ok – she fancies you!" Rogue shouted out and kept looking intently at him to see any reaction. There was none to mention.

"What's there not to fancy?" Logan asked in the cockiest way possible and munched the last piece of his sandwich. But inside he was smiling. Smiling wide! Girls were funny to him. Why did Rogue make such a fuss over such a natural thing though?

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked.

Rogue blushed again a little and hid her face behind the wave of her long black hair. "I don't know. Thought you might want to know…"

Logan didn't say a thing. He knew Rogue was acting all weird, but… It wasn't his concern anymore, right? **She** wasn't his anymore, right?

"Well, I'll better go up to her then and see if she fancies me enough to go out for a ride then," Logan said with the most manly tone he could mustard and got up. No need to waste a good opportunity to spend some time with a steaming hot female body.

Mean time Xavier was still at his office. He let his mind wonder. Something was very off with Lucky and that made Xavier tick. In a good way though. He could very well understand Lucky's defensive behaviour – it wasn't that long ago he had to tame Wolverine. And that was much, much worse. Xavier thought whether or not Lucky and Logan were cut of the same cloth. What would do the trick with her?

And the other problem – Xavier didn't know what to do about Lucky's powers. They were there, he was sure of it. Even much stronger than the most! But… Is it possible to use mutant powers without being aware of it? If so – Lucky was getting the best of both worlds. The normality of human race and the benefits of mutation. Something most people dreamed of.

Xavier decided it had to be the luck-factor. That is something people tend to take for granted. Something that might go unnoticed, historically accepted as a gift, something to sheer about instead of considering oneself a freak. It had to be it.

Xavier was puzzled. If good luck is her mutation then how to make it work for the team? Is she their charm?

--

Lucky was thrumming her guitar. Nothing special. It was something to calm her nerves and make her feel a bit more at ease with this absolutely crazy turn of events. This morning she was looking at the dust dancing on the nearly deserted highway and thinking how the hell did she end up there. Now she was sitting on a king size bed in a house royalty could live in. What a fucked up world indeed.

She started to hum and without much effort she sang:

Poisonous fire in my eyes  
lures you, my butterfly.  
My love's your prison cell  
or heaven sweet – you can't tell.

You think you're playing the game  
but in the end I leave you in shame:  
I've used you,  
I've cursed you,  
I've taken it all and left you  
with an addictive taste  
of my love you can't waste.

Snowstorm in command hides my trail.  
When you want more – bound to fail.  
Cruel curb of my blood adorn lips  
says I'm the best you always will miss.

Logan was walking down the hall with an insolent smile when he heard her voice. The Wolverine pricked up his ears and listened. It wasn't much like him to stand behind someone's door and eavesdrop, but... Deem, this redhead had some voice!

"Knock, knock," he said mockingly half away across the room already. Logan leaned on a window-sill and his piercing dark eyes monitored his pray. She put down her intument and it didn't look as if she minded the interruption. Logan liked her cool attitude and the way she seemed somewhat distant. Made him want to hunt her down and ...

"Who's there?" Lucky asked playfully and tilted her head on one side. And – yes – she was aware it's a flirtatious move. Logan in his tight fitting jeans and worn leather jacked could get anyone in a playful mood.

Logan crooked his lips and the two spent a second that felt like an hour just staring at each other. They knew. The way animals always know. It was only the matter of time and effort about how to play this game. And playing the game is always the best part of the short way from first glance to spending the night together under the immortal stars. Lucky knew it, Logan knew it. So how it's gonna play out?

"I don't see any poisonous fire in your eyes, girl," he said with his resonant manly voice.

"You're not a butterfly either, are you... Wolverine?" she asked innocently, but then leaned a bit back and there was this gloom to her eyes that only a woman has when she is after a real man's man. She was letting him know – the hunt is on.

"No I'm not, "Logan sneered while keeping his eyes glued on Lucky. ""I'm something much more... interesting. Much more. Care to go out with me?" he asked and for a second there he really felt like a schoolboy. He had to hide his own surprise for he had never expected to feel so shaky. Since when did Wolverine care if the girl number 10065543 or something so says yes or no?

Lucky smiled, as if she knew exactly how he felt. "I might."

Logan wasn't the type of a man to beg a womans attention. He wasn't going to start being so pussy now either. "Ok, let me know then," he sayd, shrugger his shoulder and pushed himself off the window-sill.

Lucky didn't like the feel of playing her cards wrong. She liked to act somewhat hard to get, but not when it meant having no fun because of it. "After dinner then?"

He was at the door already, but after hearing her cool and confident question, turned back to look at her. "I'll introduce you to local nighlife. I hope my favorite bar is open."

Lucky smiled at him and looked straight to his eyes. "I hope we'll get lucky."


End file.
